Is self published considered "published?"

Shamrockgreen said:

I am not a wiz at the methods of publishing etc...however I was wondering if self published book author are considered published authors?

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Depends on the context.

It is considered published in that that publishing uses the first print rights, and it is considered published in that it is your debut or first novel, everything after that could not be a debut novel.

BUT, the rub is that most (all?) agents and editors don't consider it prior publishing credits unless you had extraordinary sales - like high 4-digit sales or more. And some (many?) writer's organizations and businesses don't recognized self-published books as "published" when they have those designations.

So, it's kind of a rough situation because it hits you both ways - counts in ways you wouldn't maybe want it to count, and doesn't count in the ways you would.

If that doesn't help, perhaps post more detail about the specific context.

~suki

Shamrockgreen said:

I am not a wiz at the methods of publishing etc...however I was wondering if self published book author are considered published authors?

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In terms of publishing credits, generally not. It is in fact usually best left off of credits, cover letters and the like.

I've heard it can go against you. People think 'what's wrong with it that you had to publish it yourself?' I've also found lots of mistakes in self-published books. With editors charging over four thousand dollars (Australian) for an 80K book, most self-publishers can't afford the be professionally edited.

No. Because anybody can do it.

Susan G.

Yes, and no. Which is to say: it depends. The work is published and can't be described as an unpublished manuscript. But going around calling yourself a published author based on 5 copies sold via Lulu might be considered, well, vainglory.

What Vein and Susan said. Additionally, a self-pubbed book has never cleared any editorial hurdles...likely it hasn't been through professional edit, nor has it been "chosen" over other projects at a paying publisher.

Unless you find a commercial publisher who does reissues, as I did, it's unfortunately true that a self-published project must be considered "dead" as far as future publishing options are concerned.

I don't believe writer-wannabes should list self-published books as publishing credits. It's all perception, isn't it, at the end of the day? And you don't want to stack the deck against your next project, whatever else you do.

My take.

Is self-published any better or worse than a Publish America novel, though? And then there's this....

As a writer that is about to be e-published, I wonder if an e-publisher is a positive credit. (I'm happy, truly, but I wonder about this stuff.) If it's not Harlequin or EC, will an agent or other publishing house view this as a solid credit or not?

PortableHal said:

As a writer that is about to be e-published, I wonder if an e-publisher is a positive credit. (I'm happy, truly, but I wonder about this stuff.) If it's not Harlequin or EC, will an agent or other publishing house view this as a solid credit or not?

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I know of one person who was contracted by a well known agent because of an ebook the agent happened to pick up of hers. Another person's ebook was sold by an agent to a big name commercial publisher. These are just two people I talk to on a daily basis.

Besides, look at the romance authors out there who are both print and epubbed. There are lots of good reasons to doing both. Off the top of my head: Joey Hill, Saskia Walker, Crystal Jordan, Amie Stuart, Shelli Stevens, Jackie Barbosa...

At the end of the day, the answer will be it depends on the agent/publishing house.

It just depends. You need to know who you are trying to impress and what impresses them. Any given ebook or self-published book can be an asset, utterly unimportant, or a liability.

PortableHal said:

Is self-published any better or worse than a Publish America novel, though?

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It's the same. Anyone can do it. (As long as your book hit PA before they'd met the day's quota.) So it proves nothing about the writer's talent. Neither that they HAVE it, or don't have. Assumptions will be made, however, that they don't have talent, because it they did, why did they take this route?

As a writer that is about to be e-published, I wonder if an e-publisher is a positive credit. (I'm happy, truly, but I wonder about this stuff.) If it's not Harlequin or EC, will an agent or other publishing house view this as a solid credit or not?

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Depends on who's doing the epubbing, for one thing. The fact that you mention EC says to me that you know EC is a "higher standard" among epublishing.

It also depends on who is looking at your submission. Subjective is everywhere in this business. There are probably eds/agents who wouldn't view a placement with EC as a "solid credit." Heck, there are eds/agents who wouldn't consider my books with Harlequin a "solid credit."

Susan G.

I think it's important here to separate "self-published" from "subsidy-published". It's a frustrating difference, but there really is one.

A true self-published novel is, IMO, actually a step above a subsidy-published one. A self-publisher is, in effect, a small press who hasn't expanded beyond his own books to take on those from others. A self-publisher has HIRED the people to make himself a publisher---an editor, a cover artist, a sales team and a distributor. It's just that the first book (or books) on the list are his own. Does that make them somehow "less" than those already on the shelf? Hmm... maybe. But not if the editor selected (even if freelance) has a solid background in the business. Not if the cover artist is a recognized one that works with other publishers. Not if it's a good distribution contract and well-sold. In short, a self-published novel CAN be every bit as good as a large press.

But few of those authors who choose to self-publish take this route. Instead, they go with subsidy and CALL it "self". But IMO, it's not unless the devotion to the business of getting the book into stores is there. Not really.

I'd be proud to name a true self-published book on a CV, but by then, I'd be my own publisher for the rest of my books and wouldn't need to find another. There's the rub. LOL!

There is subsidy which involves paying a fee (e.g. iuniverse) and setting up as a small press (e.g. Banot Press). Most people these days are in the middle ground between the two. The aren't a fully finctioning press, but they aren't paying a fee and being fleeced either.